Tile roof ventilator

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the present invention, what is provided are materials and a method to create an intake of ventilation air at the low portion of a concrete or ceramic tile roof near the eave of the roof.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/188,069, filed Aug. 5, 2008,for TILE ROOF VENTILATOR, by John A Trischan, included by referenceherein and for which benefit of the priority date is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to providing adequate ventilation in theattic of a building which has a roof covered with concrete or ceramictile. Attic ventilation requires a source of both intake air and exhaustair. Since it is common knowledge that warm air rises above cool air thebest method of creating a ventilation flow is to provide the intake airat the lower section near the eaves and the exhaust at the upper sectionnear the ridge. This invention is specifically intended to provide theintake air at the lower section of the attic near the eaves. There aremany existing forms of ventilation equipment that are suitable for theupper ventilation near the roof ridge and will operate in conjunctionwith this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The existing cost of energy has created a significant rise in theimportance of saving energy, which has led to using the term “greening”for displaying such desire. Heating and cooling buildings is a necessityand requires energy which is not free. One way to shrink the requiredenergy is to provide adequate ventilation in the attic. During the coldperiod, winter, poor ventilation will cause moisture to build up in thesheet rock, ceiling insulation, wood framing and roof sheathing. Duringthe hot period, summer, poor ventilation will cause temperatures toincrease in the attic by 40 degrees over the outside air temperature.Both of these conditions are detrimental and will require increasedenergy to offset.

There are many existing forms of ventilation for attics that have aconcrete or ceramic tile covering. The most prevalently used tile roofventilator is branded “O'Hagin's” which is patented and is shaped andcontoured similar to two tiles on the roof field. An installation flieris included. “Lomanco” is a brand that offers a multitude of roofventilators. They offer a turbine ventilator with a soft aluminum skirtthat can be formed to the shape of a roof tile. Lomanco has variousmethods of eave ventilation of which all require a cornice under anextended eave; there are freeze board vents and soffit vents and all areshown on their company flier.

The “O'Hagins” ventilators are attractive and fit well on a tile roof;however, they only ventilate at their location and not a continuousventilator as this invention is and would be more suitable for an upperroof ventilator near the ridge with greater circulation than down nearthe eaves. The eave vents offered by Lomanco are suitable but can onlybe used on an extended eave having a freezeboard or soffit to installthe vent. The current architectural preference is to stop the roof lineat the outside wall thereby eliminating the eave and making the Lomancooptions unusable while this invention is installed on the roof and doesnot require an eave.

It would be advantageous to provide a method to supply air to ventilatea building attic.

It would also be advantageous to create a device that can be installedon a roof not having an extended eave, freezeboard or soffit which isnot available on any existing commercial products.

It would further be advantageous to provide a device easier to installthan any of the roof ventilation equipment.

It would further be advantageous to provide a roof ventilation devicethat is fabricated as one piece making it less expensive to manufactureand install than existing ventilator equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, what is provided are materialsand a method to create an intake of ventilation air at the low portionof a concrete or ceramic tile roof near the eave of the roof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained byreference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunctionwith the subsequent, detailed description, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a field of roof tile showing thepresent invention of a ventilator device installed under the third rowof tile with detail on further figures;

FIG. 2 is a sectional detail view of a relationship between the elementsof the invention, roof tile and roof structure. tile riser 31 isdetailed on FIGS. 4&5 and is a method of lifting the nose of the tile toallow flow of ventilation air. anchor batten 13, tile 20, fastener 14,and flashing 33 are all fastened to roof sheathing 12;

FIG. 3 is a sectional detail view of the relationship between theelements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure. FIG. 3 is thesame as FIG. 2 except that it shows an optional change in the tile riserto 32;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of an of the molded rubber or plastic tileriser of this invention. this is a likely design for the riser; however,this design could be changed in the future for convenience;

FIG. 5 is a right elevation view of a molded plastic or rubber tileriser as shown on FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a left perspective view of an optional tile riser 32 which isfabricated of wire of sufficient diameter that it will maintain itsshape and of a material that won't oxidise or discolor during allconditions experienced on a roof;

FIG. 7 is a left elevation view of a wire riser as shown on FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of a wire riser as shown on FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an air slot flashing 33 which can be fabricatedof various lengths to arrive at the best cost of manufacture and ease ofinstallation. each scallop would be about 6 inches on center; so theflashing depicted as 4 scallops would be about 24 inches long. thiscould be fabricated with any number of scallops such that its overalllength could be sized to convenience;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a scallop. the two dashed linesrepresent the space under the flashing where the roof felt and sheathinghave been cut away to provide a place for the intake ventilation air toflow into the attic; and

FIG. 11 is a right sectional view of a scallop as shown in FIG. 10 fromthe flashing strip, which is approximately 3″ wide to cover theventilation slot in the sheathing. the opening height of approximately1⅛″ would provide adequate ventilation and still be low enough to notinterfere with the tile.

For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components willbear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a field of roof tile showing thepresent invention of a ventilator device installed under the third rowof tile with detail on further figures.

FIG. 2 is a sectional detail view of a relationship between the elementsof the invention, roof tile and roof structure. tile riser 31 isdetailed on FIGS. 4&5 and is a method of lifting the nose of the tile toallow flow of ventilation air. anchor batten 13, tile 20, fastener 14,and flashing 33 are all fastened to roof sheathing 12.

FIG. 3 is a sectional detail view of the relationship between theelements of the invention, roof tile and roof structure. FIG. 3 is thesame as FIG. 2 except that it shows an optional change in the tile riserto 32.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of an of the molded rubber or plastic tileriser 31 of this invention. this is a likely design for the riser;however, this design could be changed in the future for convenience.

FIG. 5 is a right elevation view of a molded plastic or rubber tileriser as shown on FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a left perspective view of an optional tile riser 32 which isfabricated of wire of sufficient diameter that it will maintain itsshape and of a material that won't oxidise or discolor during allconditions experienced on a roof.

FIG. 7 is a left elevation view of a wire riser as shown on FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of a wire riser as shown on FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a flashing 33 which can be fabricated ofvarious lengths to arrive at the best cost of manufacture and ease ofinstallation. each scallop would be about 6 inches on center; so theflashing depicted as 4 scallops would be about 24 inches long. thiscould be fabricated with any number of scallops such that its overalllength could be sized to convenience.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a scallop. the two dashed linesrepresent the space under the flashing where the roof felt and sheathinghave been cut away to provide a place for the intake ventilation air toflow into the attic.

FIG. 11 is a right sectional view of a scallop as shown in FIG. 10 fromthe flashing strip, which is approximately 3″ wide to cover theventilation slot in the sheathing. the opening height of approximately1⅛″ would provide adequate ventilation and still be low enough to notinterfere with the tile.

Element 31 is shown designed with three vertical fingers pointing upwardand connected at the base having a flat plane at the bottom and the topof the fingers creating a flat plane. The material must be rigid enoughto hold the leading edge of tile 20 approximately one inch above thepreceeding tile creating a gap between both tiles to allow the flow ofair. The material must also be flexible enough for the base to followthe shape and contour of the preceeding tile as it will be bonded toboth the bottom and top tiles with an adhesive. Roof tiles are suppliedby many manufacturers all having different sizes and shapes whichrequires the afore mentioned flexibility. The most common shapes areflat, “w”, and “s”. The color and any visual characteristics areunimportant as the riser is under the top tile and will not be visible.Tiles have stiffener ribs on both the top and bottom of about ¾ inchprotrusion from the normal plane of the tile; so, to create the one inchgap between the tiles the height of the riser must be 1¾ inch as it willbe installed behind the leading ribs of the top tile. The design of theriser having three fingers is an initial concept; however, the risercould be redesigned as two or even single finger to improve thefabrication and installation if the change does not impede theperformance.

Element 32 is an alternate method of creating a riser by forming a wireable to attach to the lower tile and create the air gap by holding upthe leading edge of tile 20. The wire should be of sufficient diameterthat it would not deform if a 250 pound person stepped on the tile. Thewire should be made of a material that would not degrade or run color ifit gets wet during any condition on the roof, such as a lower grade ofstainless steel. The curl at the bottom of the wire riser is shaped tohook the top rib of the lower tile to provide stability and firmlocation. The flat length at the center of the riser is shaped to spreadwhatever load force exists across a sufficient area of the lower tile.

Element 33 is an air slot flashing 33 and is used to cover the open slotwhere the felt underlayment and wood sheathing have been removed forpassaged of air. The slot flashing is designed to have a bottom flatplane which is fastened and sealed with a calk to the roof sheathing.The slot flashing is necessary to prevent any water that has gottenunder the tile and is flowing down the felt underlayment from enteringthe attic through the open slot. Above the level of the bottom plane areraised scallops integrally formed about 5 inches wide and 1⅛ inch highwith a top that slopes front to back down to the bottom plane and bothsides are sloped outward. The scallops located 6 inches on center leavea space of 1 inch between each scallop for water to pass over the devicewithout entering the attic. The slot flashing can be made any length on6 inch increments as it is not permissible to cut a scallop. The bottomof the flashing can be fastened with about anything: nails, screws,staples or mastic. The material could be stamped of sheet metal such asaluminum or galvanized steel, but probably a better choice would bevacuum formed plastic. The slot flashing is installed under tile 20 andwould not be visible so that color and texture is not important. As theslot will generally be the full length of the roof while the slotflashings would probably be manufactured with 5 foot lengths, the seamwhere the flashings butt together must be calk sealed.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen forpurposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications whichdo not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected byLetters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

1. A tile roof ventilator for provides attic lower intake ventilationnear the eaves, comprising: means for a molded rubber or plastic tileriser used to raise the nose of the tile which allows space forventilation air to enter the attic; means for performing the samefunction as the molded riser in FIG. 2 except it is an alternatematerial of formed wire; and means for flashing to cover the slot cut inthe felt and the sheathing to allow passage of air into the attic whilepreventing any moisture leaking in the attic.
 2. The tile roofventilator in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for a moldedrubber or plastic tile riser used to raise the nose of the tile whichallows space for ventilation air to enter the attic comprises a moldedrubber or plastic tile riser.
 3. The tile roof ventilator in accordancewith claim 1, wherein said means for performing the same function as themolded riser in FIG. 2 except it is an alternate material of formed wirecomprises a formed wire tile riser.
 4. The tile roof ventilator inaccordance with claim 1, wherein said means for flashing to cover theslot cut in the felt and the sheathing to allow passage of air into theattic while preventing any moisture leaking in the attic comprises anair slot flashing.